Kingdom Hearts: You, Me, And Them
by DestinyHikari
Summary: After coming home, Sora and Roxas a drawn into another adventure in a new world, with new people, new clothes, and possibly, new love. At least one thing will stay the same for sure... The heartless. -KaoriZutto gave me this idea- PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Vortex

Chapter 1

Vortex

"Bored… Bored… Bored," Sora chanted. He stood in the Secret Spot alone examining the drawings on the walls. He stopped at one sketch in particular and smiled. It was one of him and Kairi exchanging Paopu fruits. Sora took once last glance at it before sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"I sure never thought I'd be bored in Destiny Islands. I mean I'm home, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are."

"Roxas?"

"No. The other guy that lives in your head, Bob."

"Don't get sarcastic with me Roxas."

"I am you Sora," Roxas chuckled.

Sora stood. "Get out of my head!"

"Why should I?" Roxas asked, remaining inside the mind of his somebody. "Besides, this isn't just your head now. It's mine too."

"Just get out or shut up Roxas! Why are you talking all of a sudden anyway?"

"Because I have a question."

"And what might that be? 'Why does Bob get more space then you do'?" Sora rolled his eyes.

"Oh… Good one. But I thought you didn't like being sarcastic?"

"Just ask your question damn it!"

"Whoa, fine. No need to get testy." Secretly, Roxas enjoyed put Sora through pain. It was his way of allowing Sora to realize he was still alive. Obviously, he hated being a nobody but he still got to be with Namine. It was the only reason he stayed; and the fact that he didn't know how to get out for good.

"Sora… Why do you talk to yourself?"

Sora gasped as his face turned red. It was a habit of his, talking to himself. He could barely control it, sometimes, the words just came out.

"It's a habit," he admitted. "But now that I have you, it won't seem as if I'm talking to myself anymore. So come out so I can actually talk to you."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't… This conversation will not continue."

"Big deal."

"_And_," Sora added slyly. "I won't look at Kairi for the rest of the week."

Roxas gasped. "You wouldn't…"

"Wanna bet?"

Reluctantly, Roxas stepped out of Sora, a glum expression on his face.

"Man," Sora chuckled looking at the blond male. "I'll never get used to that."

Roxas rolled his eyes. He stared at the image of the girl and boy giving one another the star shaped fruit.

"You know… Whenever I look at this… I always see me and Namine."

"Really?" Sora peered at the sketch. "All I see is me and Kairi."

"At least the fruit still stays the same, right?"

Sora nodded.

The two sat in silence staring at the illustration. What they thought was reality, changed not so long ago. They had so many knew challenges to conquer. Not only were they Keyblade wielders but they had to deal with their emotions and hormones since they were only teens. By now, they had the same question in their heads. "Could life get any crappier?"

Suddenly, small vibrations began in the atmosphere. Both males looked at one another.

"Do you feel that?" Roxas asked, looking around the dark cave.

"Yeah… The earth is shaking."

"What if... It's not shaking?"

The vibrations became stronger, as the blond and brunette tried to keep their balance.

"W-What do you m-mean?" Sora stammered.

"What if… H-Heartless are h-here!?" Roxas shouted.

The two glanced at each other before lashing out their keyblades. Sora kept his grip of his Kingdom Key while Roxas did the same with Oathkeeper and Oblivion as they ran out of the cave.

* * *

"W-What's going on!?" Kairi pondered as she kept grip of a palm tree. She had been staring into the ocean when she felt the island tremble.

"Kairi!"

The redhead spun around to see both Roxas and Sora running her way with their keyblades. This could only mean one thing, heartless.

As the two reached her, the quivering on their world came to an end.

Kairi watched the sand beneath her go into place. She took deep breaths and looked at the brunette. "Sora… What happened?"

"Well—" Sora began.

Roxas cut him off, "Where's Namine?"

Kairi glowed as Namine ran out of her and rushed into Roxas, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Roxas," she cried as she dug her head deep into his neck. "That… Earthquake frightened me so much."

Roxas felt his neck get moist. His keyblades disappeared from his hands. He brought one of his arms to the pale blue grey eyed girl's waist and the other to the top of her head, stroking her blond hair. He wandered why Namine had tears in her eyes and said she was scared. Even though Namine was different, she was still a nobody. It wasn't right for her to cry or suggest she had emotions. Never the less, Roxas still held her close. He was just glad that she was safe.

Sora smiled as he watched his nobody keep hold of his girl. Suddenly, he felt a warm presence by his side. He looked down to see Kairi resting her head on his shoulder. Blushing, Sora wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I'm glad you're all right Sora," Kairi smiled as she looked up into the male's ocean blue eyes.

"I'm just glad you're alive," Sora smiled looking into Kairi's deep blue eyes.

Kairi chuckled. "Where did the earthquake come from?"

"I don't know…" Sora admitted. "It just happened. Roxas and I thought it was the heartless but I guess we were wrong."

"Oh…" Kairi mumbled. "Let's go inside. It's getting late anyway."

Namine nodded. "The sun's about to set." She let go of Roxas and stood next to Kairi.

Kairi moved from Sora and walked alongside Namine to the row boat. Roxas and Sora followed the two girls to the boat, knowing that they would have to row them home.

* * *

"That was something," Sora mumbled to Roxas. The two stood outside leaning against the railing for the front porch. The watched the stars twinkle in the night.

"Yeah… Namine even cried."

Sora turned to Roxas. "It's that possible?"

"Namine's different," Roxas muttered. "So it's possible."

"Does it hurt to know that she can cry and you can't?"

Roxas remained silent. He didn't know how to answer that question. In a way, it did. It made him jealous; but then again, it wasn't so bad. It made him feel stronger. When he seriously thought about it, all he ever wished for was to be equal with Namine. So they could be the same and never go through difficult times again.

"At times," Roxas finally answered.

A silence arose between the two. They found, that this was happening often lately.

"Well... I'm off to bed, coming?" Sora asked.

Roxas nodded and followed him inside the large house.

* * *

The sun shone brightly through the transparent sea blue curtains. Roxas turned away from the light and pulled the covers of the bed over his head. He lay still expecting Sora to yank the covers from him. He remained this way for five seconds but when he felt nothing, his ocean blue eyes flashed open.

"Sora?" He whispered as he scanned the messy room.

It was strange to see Sora wasn't in the room. Normally, he was the one sleeping in and Roxas was gone. It was now Roxas was wishing he was in Sora's head. That way, it would be easier to find Sora. But no, he was the one that refused to sleep inside the brunette but was okay with sleeping side by side with him. Each way, he and Sora slept together.

Roxas shook his head, shooing away the thought of knowing he slept with another male. Whether he was Sora's nobody or not, he just didn't like it.

Roxas stretched and climbed out of bed. He scratched his head and kissed his teeth at the mess which he and Sora called their room.

"We have to clean this place up sometime," he declared to himself. He chuckled as he realized he was talking to himself just the way Sora did.

* * *

Sora sighed as he stared at the ocean. That situation with the quake had not only been scary but strange. It made no sense how one second everything could be normal and the next, the world shakes; but, wasn't that what earthquakes were? The keyblade wielder shrugged and lay down on the sand.

That's when it started. Once again… The island started to shake. Sora tried to stand but found he couldn't move. It felt as if the world was sucking him into the core.

* * *

Roxas had been walking around town in search of Sora when he felt the tremble. "Damn it!" He shouted aggravated. Suddenly, the sand beneath him arose, forming a barrier around him. Roxas turned around hectically, in search of a way to escape his sandy doom. Suddenly, he collapsed and was sucked into a hole beneath him.

* * *

"What the hell…?" Sora muttered. He was surrounded by endless darkness. He couldn't see a thing and what was worse was that he was just sinking deeper and deeper into nothingness slowly. Furthermore, he didn't stand, nor did he sit, he floated.

"Sora!"

Sora turned to see Roxas gliding towards him. "Roxas? How did you get here?"

"Damn it Sora!" Roxas shouted. "How the hell am I supposed to know!? All I really know is that I want out of this hell hole!"

"Don't you think I want the same thing Roxas!?" Sora shouted back. "God!"

Roxas silenced. He knew he had been acting bratty.

"I'm sorry Sora," He apologized. "It's just that question you asked me yesterday… It's been bothering me."

"It's all right…" Sora smiled. "I understand you, remember that."

Roxas chuckled. "Man, you've been acting a lot like me… It's funny because I've been acting like you."

"Are you saying I'm a brat?" Sora questioned.

"… Possibly," Roxas answered.

"I'm going to kill you Roxas!" Sora shouted lunging at Roxas. Before he could reach him, the darkness began to shake.

"Not again…" Roxas muttered.

"This is getting crazy!" Sora declared.

Not like before though, the trembling was stronger then ever and a lot more violent. It seemed as if the darkness wanted to separate the two males.

Roxas refused to move from Sora. He stretched his arms out to his somebody.

"Sora!" He shouted over the racket. "Grab my wrists!"

Sora did as he was told and held on tight.

Suddenly, the darkness began spinning them in a circular motion, like a wild whirlpool. The two males held tight onto each others wrists. But they weren't stronger then the vortex. It spun at an amazing speed, bringing them closer to the end.

"I'm slipping!" Sora shouted. His hands went from Roxas' wrists to his hands.

"Me too!" Roxas shouted. "But just try to hold on!"

The current spun faster, becoming more violent and loud. Only Roxas' and Sora's fingers were keeping grasp of one another.

"Roxas!"

"Sora!"

Those were their final words to one another before the current pulled the two apart. The vortex spun the two, one male in each current, into different directions. Deeper and Deeper it went. Further, and further Roxas and Sora fell into darkness.


	2. Innocence

Chapter 2:

Innocence

Roxas' eyes flickered open as he came out of his daze. He rubbed his temples annoyed. He took a deep breath, to his surprise, he breathed in crisp air. Rapidly, he sat up and examined the area around him. He was surrounded by beautiful forestry. Green was every where but it was highlighted with bright colours such as orange and yellow. Roxas gazed at the beautiful sight around him in awe. The aura the garden gave off was just so calming that he didn't even bother thinking about how angry he was that he was away from Namine.

"Okay. This time, I just got to get it right!"

Roxas stood quickly and crept to an opening to the small garden. He stepped on the grass as softly as he could while he walked to the opening. He stood behind a tree and poked his head out to see what was going on.

To his surprise, the area he gazed upon was even more beautiful then the area he had awoken in. Like the other region, there were trees and flowers but these plants were surrounding a large body of water that flowed around a beautifully rafted fountain. Roxas peered closer to the fountain while immediately falling in love with it's every detail.

Suddenly, he heard splashing. She looked up from the bowl of the fountain and at the tap where the water gently spilled down. Inside the fountain was a young girl jumping in a circular motion, her eyes shut, and her arms to her sides.

"_Tsumetai kusa no ue ni taorekomi _

_Hoteru karada wo kakushitai_

_Mayfuyu no seizatachi ga watashi no koibito,_

_Zutto matteita no _

_Ay-ye-ye-ye…."_

All of a sudden, her arms shot up in the air and the water around the fountain rose to an all time high. Roxas even took a small step back in shock.

"_Kyou no kibun wa saikou desu."_

She spun around continuously, still her voice sounding as pure and golden as if had before. The water rushed into the air above her, spinning wildly but barely any of it sprayed around.

"_Zetsubou mo kibou mo nai_

_Sora no youni sukitootteitai."_

The water stilled quickly and then amazingly, splattered into millions of droplets.

Roxas winced, covering his head with his arms as the water fell.

"Who's there?"

Roxas hesitated while the water came to a halt. The girl had probably heard his motion.

"Come out here!" She shouted angrily. "Come out right now!"

Reluctantly, Roxas stepped out from behind the tree. He looked down, disappointed that he had blown his cover and clutched his wrists in anger. Slowly, his rage was coming back to him.

"You…!"

Roxas looked up at the female. Instantaneously, she blew him away. Her hair was light blond complimented by auburn almost red streaks. Her creamy light skin, with the exception of her light pink cheeks, brought much attention to her pale blue grey eyes; they shown like bright stars of an empty night sky. Her lithe body shaped was embellished by a short periwinkle blue strapless dress and a short Maya blue jacket. Her oval head tilted to the left a bit, her hair swished to the side, brushing her shoulder.

Roxas couldn't stop staring even though he knew he had to. It was written all over his face that he had a newly found obsession with the girl. He was fascinated with her strangely. He had the urge to hold her the way he did Namine. But she wasn't Namine. She was simply a beautiful girl with a pissed off expression on her face.

"How dare you come to the Garden of Roses!?" She questioned him, eyeing him down.

Roxas felt as if she was stripping him down with her eyes, staring right into his soul.

"I didn't mean to!" Roxas argued. "Honest!"

"Liar!" She shouted. She pulled off the short jacket revealing her bare shoulders. She then held it above her. "I'll show you what we do to liars in Twilight Kingdom." Abruptly, the jacket stretched. As it did, it went into an eye-striking silver. Its shape then changed. The cloth formed into long chains.

Roxas stepped back in fear. Not only did he have no idea what was going on, but he would have to fight a girl. It didn't bother him that she was female; it was her resemblance to Namine. It would feel like hitting the girl he fell for.

Unenthusiastically, Roxas lashed out his keyblades and went to a battle stance.

"Those weapons..." The girl mumbled. "They're not welcome here; and neither are you!" With that, she spun, smashing her chains against Roxas He flew back in pain, but landed on his feet. Keeping a tight hold on his blades, he ran towards the girl. As he got closer, the anger in the girl rose. When he was close enough, she threw back her weapons into the tall bushes behind her. With her arms held over her head, Roxas struck at her many times. It seemed as if any sympathy he had had for the girl disappeared while he continued cutting up her stomach.

Through blood and tears, the girl continued standing. A jolt came to her body, alerting her that it was her turn to strike back. Flipping backwards, she kicked both of Roxas' keyblades out of his palms and disappeared in the bushes.

Roxas ran back, catching his weapons and took slow deep breaths. He stood crouched down, coughing up a bit of blood but remaining on his guard. He scrutinized the whole area before standing straight. It was hard to remain standing for he was in serious pain. His arms and legs had been cut up and a large scar had been made on the side of his neck.

His keyblades disappeared from his hands while he searched for a way out of this garden.

"_What was she talking about?"_ He wondered curiously. _"What did I ever do to this place?"_

"Die traitor!"

Roxas turned just in time to be slashed up in the front of his body by the girl. As her feet came to the ground, Roxas' back also came to the grass.

* * *

Sora dashed though out a large Courtyard in shock.

"Where the hell am I!?" He shouted into the sky. He stopped and crossed his arms. Still looking up at the amazing mid day sky mixed with blues and yellows he said to himself, "I've been here for more then twenty minutes and I _**still **_haven't found anyone!"

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

Sora whirled around to the direction of the harsh voice to see an attractive girl crossing her arms at him. Her hair flowed with the colors of Auburn, almost red and blond streaks. Her deep sea blue eyes pierced at his skin. With her soft light skin and pinkish cheeks, there was no doubt that she was noticed by all when she stepped into a room. Her short scarlet red skirt flapped against her thighs while the wind blew. The gust carried along the sleeves of her burgundy sweater and her long hair. Her empowering stance not only let others know not to annoy her but also made her nimble body appear to be more attractive then ever.

Sora stared at the female, not moving at all. The longer he looked, the more he could see it. He could see her resemblance to Kairi. In fact, the resemblance was so strong; he figured it actually was his girl.

"Kairi?"

"_Kairi?_ Who's that?"

"Um, she's my friend," Sora mumbled shaking his head. He turned his head to the side and focused on the ground. He had been so sure it was Kairi that now he wasn't sure if he'd find her in this place; what ever this place was.

Unexpectedly, he felt a strong force against his chest. Looking in front of him, he saw the girl leaning close to him, pressing her chest against his and staring up at him with a dazed face.

"Just a friend?" She said in a softer voice then the one she had used when she first met him. She bashed her eyelashes continuously which only made Sora feel oddly uncomfortable.

"Uh, well, yeah but—"

He was cut off. The girl had used all her force to push him to the ground so that he was lying on his back and she was on her hands and knees looking down at him.

"Good," she smirked. Too swiftly, she leaned down closer to him so that their foreheads touched.

"You have pretty eyes," she mumbled.

Before he knew it, the female's lips pushed onto his, still with force. Sora blinked multiple times. He could have pulled her off easily but found he couldn't move his body at all. The kiss was like poison, paralyzing him. All he could do was stare at the girl who looked exactly like Kairi. In a way, he didn't want to push her off; not only because she looked like Kairi, but he liked her feeling. He liked her scent, her hair, her body. He wanted to grab her shoulders and pull her to the ground and continue their passionate kiss.

That's when he realized that he had been kissing her back this whole time. He_ had _continued their kiss and deepened it more then ever. It was him who was doing the work now. It was wrong but damn was it right. He loved the taste of her lips. It made him think of strawberries, maybe even Papou Fruit. It was hard to resist her, even when he had stood and talked to her, all he could think about were her kissable lips.

But he couldn't continue, it wasn't fair to Kairi, he had to stop before things got too far, not that already hadn't, he had to resist her and push her away.

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled himself off slowly, really slowly. Eventually the two were separated and breathing hard.

"That was," The girl said between breaths. "Amazing."

"Yeah," Sora agreed as he took another breath.

"Then why did you pull away?"

"Because," Sora's eyes lowered. "I don't even know you for one. It's not right. I haven't even kissed…"

"Haven't kissed who?"

"My friend," Sora mumbled. "I like her very much and me doing this… It was a mistake."

Immediately, the girl stood. She stared at Sora horrified. "A… Mistake!? How can you say such a thing?"

Sora noticed her eyes begin to water and stood up. "I'm sorry but…" He reached his hand out but she slapped it away.

"You don't deserve anybody!" She shouted, rubbing her eyes with the back of her arm. "I pray to the one above you die alone!" She then turned around and ran sounds of weeping following her.

Sora stared at the Kairi look-a-like run faster and faster out of the Courtyard.

* * *

Roxas' eyes fluttered open. They were alone half way open when he saw the girl that looked like Namine. She was kneeling beside him, her hands crossed at her chin with her eyes closed.

"Are you… Praying?"

One eye from the girl opened and looked directly at Roxas. Once again, her stare made a shiver run down his spine. She closed her eyes and then opened them while smile formed across her lips. She turned her body to Roxas while keeping her hands on her lap. "Are you all right?"

Roxas nodded gradually.

"Good," The female smiled. "I'm truly sorry for attempting to bring you great pain. I shouldn't have reacted so hast. I'll be more careful next time, I promise."

Roxas continued to nod. "May I ask _why_ you tried to kill me? Don't tell me it's because I'm a Keyblade Wielder."

"Then I guess I shouldn't respond."

Roxas' head lowered as guilt washed over him. "Oh… Sorry. But, what do you have against people who wield the Keyblade?"

"I have nothing against them," The girl replied. "But here, In Twilight Kingdom, they're hated. A long time ago, Keyblade Wielders came from all over. People of the Kingdom ad heard about the Keyblades, we saw them as good. But that all changed when suddenly, they started killing innocent people. Much blood was shed and evil speared. Eventually, thanks to great Kings and Queens, peace was restored. But recently, rumors have been going around, saying that the Keyblades were back. So now everybody is on alert for them. That's why I attacked you."

"Oh no," Roxas mumbled. He placed his hand on his forehead and shook. "But if you tried to kill me, why would you try and save me?"

"Because," the girl blushed, her cheeks more red then before. "I like you."


	3. Found

Chapter 3:

Found

"Long live the people of this Sovereignty!"

"Hear, hear!"

He sat down in his seat as men around the large oak table cheered. They had been having a meeting earlier about many different problems in their monarchy. But after an amazing speech, he was capable of making the men happy.

Now they were joyful and clinked their glasses together in the exquisite meeting room of his castle.

"You're Majesty?"

King Aldercy turned his head a bit to the left, his ice colored eyes shifting to the pair of lips beside him.

"Annabelle?"

"I have a very important message to inform you about."

Aldercy's eyes shut while a smirk crept to his lips. With his hand placed under his chin, he extended if fingers and stroked his cheek. His shoulder length black hair brushed against his forehead as his head tilted.

"How important, love?" He whispered to the already whispering voice.

He could see a hint of red on Annabelle's cheeks.

"It's about Princess Haruhi."

Aldercy's eyebrows raised but then quickly dropped. He stood slowly and extended his arms out in front of him.

The men quickly silenced and sat down in their seats.

"It seems a small issue has come up with our Princess. Excuse me while I solve it gentlemen."

All the men stood and bowed at their King, he nodded.

He turned his back on all the men and looked at the blonde woman was stunning royal blue eyes. She was wearing a long sleeved short dress. The sleeves revealed her shoulders and covered her arms completely. The design of the sleeves had a small section of black and white lines over their cardinal red color. The actual dress was covered in black and Cardinal checkers. Covering her collar bone completely was a plain, thick black necklace. On her legs were onyx stockings and long silver zippered cardinal boots. It wasn't the outfit she had chosen to wear, it was her uniform.

Annabelle bowed her head, clasped her hands together and turned her back on the King and guided him out to the room with now whispering men.

Aldercy followed Annabelle, at least three steps behind her.

Aldercy glanced around the walls of the corridor. There were stunning pictures of people and places and gorgeous stain glass windows of images that let in a lovely light which brightened the hall. But of course, Aldercy wouldn't be surprised. He had lived in this building long enough to not get excited over its beauty.

He looked in front of him and watched Annabelle walk quickly to the room of Princess Haruhi. It was as if she wanted to escape from him.

Aldercy smirked knowing that he wouldn't let her run.

Annabelle felt a jolt of energy hit her from behind. She let out a small squeak and gazed down to see one black sleeve belted with white belts and fingers sticking out of the sleeve rubbing her stomach. She then felt more fingers rub her lips. The tips were icy cold and sent a sensational feeling through her body as she breathed on the arctic tips.

"Nothing compares to," Aldercy breathed into her ear. "The beauty of you."

The fingers forced Annabelle's mouth open wide. She caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye to see Aldercy stick out the tip of his tongue a bit. She then felt something wet— his tongue —stroke her neck.

"I know you have a lot to say, Annabelle," he mumbled while still rubbing his index finger on her lips. "But honestly, I don't want to hear it."

He smirked and placed his lips against her skin. "I _hate_ it when you try to resist me. Accept me, Annabelle."

Abruptly, he turned her around so that her appealing face met his. Now one of his arms was around her lower back while the other was at her back. He dipped her slightly.

"Don't turn around," he whispered.

Then his ice lips pressed against hers sending wonders all around her body. Annabelle stared into the half opened eyes of her Sovereign. Her were open to their fullest as she felt him deepen the kiss. The more force he used on her, the closer Annabelle's eyes got to full closure.

Sooner then excepted, Annabelle's royal blue eyes could not be seen. The corner or Aldercy's lips turned upwards as his Columbia ice blue eyes were covered by his eyelids.

* * *

She pulled the brush down her red and blond hair.

"_Kairi…"_

She picked up more parts of her mane and pulled the brush down that part too.

"_Kairi…"_

She set the brush down and looked into her mirror.

"_Kairi."_

Haruhi placed one finger on her bottom lip. She thought back to the spiky brunette deepen the kiss she had shared with him. Tears ran down her cheeks as she threw her head back and faced the ceiling. She left her arms at her sides and clutched her fist angrily. She then opened her mouth and let out a cry.

"Lower your voice Haruhi."

Immediately, Haruhi's heard twirled around to the direction of the voice.

"Father?"

The man that stood at her doorway had shoulder length black hair and icy Columbia blue eyes. His soft ivory skin held no wrinkles or any sign of age. This made sense, figuring he was only thirty. But he looked as if he should have been in his early twenties. This man appeared to be that young.

He wore a long black trench coat with matching pants decorated in white belts and patterns all over both items of clothing. On his feet were black dress shoes embellished with white swirls.

A dark expression came to his face as his eyelids lowered and his frown deepened.

"Why is it that you cry?"

Haruhi turned away not wanting to answer her father's question. After all, he barely ever answered hers.

"I prefer not to discuss it, Father."

"Then I prefer you stop making such horrid noises in Twilight Castle."

Haruhi's eyes watered but she shut her eyes and clenched her fist. "Leave me to me solitude Father."

"As long as you are living in this kingdom, you shall not be left alone. Especially not by me."

Haruhi stood quickly. She pointed a long finger at Aldercy and shouted, "Don't give me that bull! This kingdom is mine just as much as it is yours! In fact, the day you die will be the day of my rein!"

Aldercy stared at the finger she pointed out at him. He said nothing and neither did his daughter. Annabelle stood quietly at the doorway also. The silence created an unnatural feeling to the room.

"Is that the same finger you placed on your bottom lip?"

Haruhi gasped and brought her hand to her chest. With her free hand she placed it on top of the hand already on her beating heart.

"W-Why do you care?" She asked.

Aldercy turned his back on her and grabbed the knob of the door. "Remember Haruhi, you will be married some time soon so I suggest you don't get too attached to whoever's lips has come to yours."

With that, he closed the door, leaving his daughter in wonder.

* * *

"You… Like me?"

The Namine look-a-like nodded.

Roxas blushed and turned away. He didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say. The girl had come out with this so randomly it just knocked him up. He hadn't even had time to put this thought into his mind.

"You don't sound as cruel as most Keyblade wielders are described."

Roxas calmed and let out a breath of relief. He was thankful he had been wrong about the liking this girl had for him. He already had Namine, how could he handle falling for another girl?

"Well most Keyblade wielders are good," He smiled thinking about Sora. "In fact, there's another one here I think."

"Really?" The girl sounded so excited that it made Roxas chuckle.

"Why do you laugh?"

"Um, no reason," Roxas lied.

The girl nodded slowly.

"You'd like this other keyblade," Roxas said. "He's very nice and kind."

The girl smiled, "So he's like you?"

Roxas blushed and reached up to scratch his head but cringed. "Ow!"

"Oh!" The girl took his arm gently and placed it on her lap. "It seems you were bruised most here," she mumbled as she examined his bloody limb. She pulled off a long office green cloth around her waist and tore it into three different parts. She then took Roxas' shoulders and carefully pushed him to the ground.

Roxas' didn't object since he wasn't in good enough condition to argue. He just watched her, letting her take over.

She then threw one knee over him so that she kneeled on top of the keyblade master.

Roxas' cheeks turned red quickly as she leaned in close to him. He turned his head away hoping that she wouldn't notice him blush.

Still leaning close to him, she pulled down the zipper of Roxas' jacket with no real expression on her face. Her face stayed this way as she raised his shirt to the point where she could see his bare chest.

Roxas' face was pure red when he felt air brush against his stomach. "Um… What are you doing..?"

"Shh," she mumbled. "I must concentrate."

She then dug her hand into the pocket of her short teal dress. Pulling out a small vial, she smiled. She pulled out the cork and put it right beside Roxas' face. She then turned the bottle over and tapped it into her palm. Thick liquid spilled into her hand.

Roxas' caught scent of the fluid. It smelt like burning leather to him. The strong scent tickled his nose causing him to sneeze.

The girl giggled and cautiously rubbed the substance over the large wound on his chest and stomach. She then grabbed the cloth and leaned so close towards Roxas that he could hear her breath. She wrapped her free arm around his neck and pulled him up slowly.

Roxas' glanced at the girl for a second to see she was smiling but turned away when he felt he was about to grin.

Soon, he could feel the tips of her chest against him. He shifted awkwardly, hoping to not get too attached with the feeling.

"Hold me."

Surprise came to Roxas' face. "What?"

"Hold me," she repeated.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't wrap his arms around a girl that wasn't Namine. No matter how much they looked alike. Apparently, his body had different ideas. As if automatic, his arms were at her waist, holding her close.

More cautious then ever, the girl wrapped the fabric around Roxas' wound. She pressed her arms around his built abdomen straitening it. She then pulled down his shirt and zipped up his jacket. Smiling, she took one of his arms and wrapped another piece of cloth around it and did the same to the other.

"There, all done," She declared when she finished.

She moved off of Roxas' lap and stood.

Roxas also stood up and watched her straighten the skirt of her dress. "Um… Thanks…" He thought back, trying to remember if he had even caught her name. Concluding that he didn't he asked, "Who are you if I may ask?"

The girl chuckled and replied with her hand on her heart, "My name is Hitomi."

"_She even introduces herself the way Namine does," _Roxas thought. "I'm Roxas."

"Nice to meet you, Roxas."

"Yeah…"

Hitomi giggled. "I wanted to meet a Keyblade wielder at least once."

"Well now you have," Roxas smiled. "Sorry it was me. I'm kind of a disappointment."

"I'm glad I met you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

Hitomi placed her finger tips together and stared at her newly found friend. "Do you know where you are, Roxas?"

Embarrassed, Roxas shook his head.

"This is Twilight Kingdom," She informed him. "Where we are in is the Garden of Roses which is located in Twilight Castle."

"Oh."

Hitomi smiled, "How did you get here Roxas?"

"I'm actually not so sure."

"Well that's not good," Hitomi replied. "We'll have to get you out of here as quickly as possible. I mean, I can't have people figuring out you're a keyblade master."

Roxas nodded, "I'm guessing you live here in the Kingdom?"

Hitomi nodded. "Yes, in the Castle. My room is in one of the towers."

"But... Don't the owners mostly live at the top?"

"Yes."

"So doesn't that mean…"

"I own this kingdom?" Hitomi asked jaded. "In a way yes and no. When I am the appropriate age I can truly call this kingdom my own."

"So doesn't that make you a—"

"Don't say it," Hitomi begged. "Please Roxas, don't say it."

Perplexed, Roxas nodded. It made no sense to him why somebody of so much power wouldn't want the world to know. Wasn't it a good thing?

Hitomi screamed, interrupting Roxas' thoughts.

"Roxas!" She shouted pointing at the ground.

Quickly, the blonde turned to the ground to see a dark mist rise and take the form of a Neoshadow Heartless. Roxas' keyblades appeared into his hands while Hitomi ran and hid behind him. Roxas' went into a battle stance as his eyelids lowered.

"You can't fight it Roxas!"

"I'm not that weak, Hitomi."

"But you're still hurt and if anybody sees your keyblades…"

"It's okay. Because I know I'd have helped you out." With that Roxas' soared into the Neoshadow and in less then a minute, it disappeared into a puff of smoke. All that was left was a heart which soared upwards and soon also disappeared.

Hitomi turned away from the smoke and to her hero. She ran towards Roxas and held her arm out to him.

"A keyblade wielder!"

Both Roxas and Hitomi turned to an old woman in a long checkered black and cardinal red dress who carried a watering can and was pointing at Roxas' weapons. She shouted as loud as her lungs would let her, "A keyblade wielder! Princess Hitomi, run away from his evil!"

"Oh, no, Silva, he's not a threat!"

The woman, Silva, ignored Hitomi's truths and continued to shout and panic.

"He will kill us all! I must tell King Aldercy! No, you tell the King, Princess Hitomi! I will hold him off!"

_SMACK!_ A thunderous blast shouted over the area.

Silva lay on the grass taking slow breaths calmly. Her eyes were shut and she appeared lifeless apart from her rising chest.

Both Roxas and Hitomi's attention went to Annabelle who stood over the women in her shorter version of the uniform. One of her arms was raised as a smiled formed on her lips. That smile faded once she saw Roxas and Hitomi standing close together. Her arm lowered while her eyes widened.

"_Could it be possible?"_ She thought while she stared at the two astonished. Strangely, they looked back at her with slightly open mouths and wide eyes. _"A Keyblade Master and our Princess?"_

She stared at the blonde with red highlights stare back at her. She noticed her princess' arm extended out towards the keyblade master, and the look on her face; it was as if without him, she'd die. He was her source of air. He was her source of light.

He was her heart.

"H-Hitomi…"

"Annabelle, it's not what it—"

"Don't say that Hitomi," Annabelle's expression darkened. She flipped her blonde hair away from her face and smirked. "It _is_ what it seems."

Hitomi saddened and looked at the ground, ashamed. She held her hands together promising never to look at Roxas again.

Roxas' keyblades disappeared from his hands as he gazed at the ground. He clutched his fist and shut his eyes. Never again was he going to stare at Hitomi.

"You two are engaged."

Roxas' head shot up first. He stared at the blonde woman very perplexed. _Engaged?_ As in _"To be married"_? This Annabelle was obviously out of her mind. How could Roxas even gather the guts to talk to someone like Hitomi, never the less, marry her?

Hitomi looked amused even as she shook her head. She brought her hand to her mouth, covering her smile and hoping to not burst out laughing.

"What?" Annabelle questioned. "Am I the one whom is wrong? Strange. You two look so in love. Princess Hitomi looks as if this keyblade master is her reason for living. And the keyblade master," she chuckled. "He looks like he would bite my head off if I even breathed in the same air as our princess."

Hitomi's cheeks went pink when she heard Annabelle's reasons. She took a step forward, standing next to Roxas. It took all of her self will to stop herself from glancing into his big blue eyes. Unfortunately, self will was useless. She couldn't help but catch a glimpse of his now red face.

Roxas' skin deepened its shade of red when he caught Hitomi's glance. He turned away quickly when he realized he had just broken his promise to himself.

"Anyway," Annabelle chuckled while she watched the two teens blush wild shades of pink and red. "What is the name of this master?"

Roxas looked up at the tall blonde and blue eyed Annabelle. She seemed pleasant and trustworthy. She had beat up an old woman to save him and that wasn't the greatest thing to have on your record, plus Hitomi seemed to trust her.

"Roxas," he finally answered.

"Cute name," Annabelle grinned. "Why are you here?"

"He doesn't know," Hitomi answered for him. "He just got here."

"Well that's not good," Annabelle responded, pointing out the obvious. "I'm guessing you don't know how to get back either?"

Roxas nodded.

"Well," Annabelle mumbled. She rubbed her chin and her eyes drifted off somewhere. "We can't figure out what to do with you just now. Yet we can't just leave you here. I guess you'll have to stay with me."

"Annabelle," Hitomi mumbled. "You don't—"

"Of course I do," Annabelle smiled. "There's room for him at my home. Plus," she bowed. "I'm only here to please my sweet Hitomi."

Hitomi blushed and nodded.

"Wait," Roxas suddenly said. "I'm not here alone. I have a, um, _friend_ here with me."

"Namine?"

Roxas whirled around to Hitomi quickly. "How do you know about Namine?"

Hitomi was taken back a bit by Roxas' intensity. "You kept repeating that name when you had been unconscious."

"Oh," Roxas muttered, defeated.

"Hey," Annabelle smiled and placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find your Namine."

Roxas nodded and smiled.

"Roxas!"

All three people turned to a spiky brunette male with large blue eyes. He looked back at them and tilted his head a bit. He then gasped and pointed at Hitomi. "You!"

"Me?" Hitomi asked.

"Yes! You!" Sora replied. He walked up to her and looked closely into her eyes. "Wait a second…" He leaned in so close that their foreheads touched. He moved back and shook his head. "Um, never mind."

"Sora?"

Sora grinned at his nobody and scratched the back of his awkwardly. "I spent this whole time looking for you, buddy."

"Well, you found me."

He looked at the tall blonde woman and then the shorter blonde with red highlights. He realized that she looked like Kairi but looked a lot more like Namine.

"Who are you?" Sora asked the Namine clone.

"My name is Hitomi," she smiled.

Sora noticed that her face even had the power to brighten his as he had an even wider grin on his face now then ever.

"I'm Sora." He turned to the tall woman, thankful she didn't look anybody he knew. He had had enough experiences with look-a-likes in this day. "And your name is…?"

"Annabelle," She grinned. "First Lady of Hitomi."

"Annabelle…" Hitomi groaned.

"Oh like he wouldn't figure it out," Annabelle rolled her eyes.

"Figure out what?" Sora asked.

"That Hitomi here is a princess," Annabelle announced.

Sora gazed at the girl in a strapless short teal dress. He looked at her feet only to see Viridian wedge heels with two small swirls on the straps. He then turned to her arms which were both covered in many different shapes, sizes, and colors of bracelets, bangles, and other arm accessories. She didn't look like a princess, she looked like a regular girl.

"Seriously?"

"Hey!" Annabelle frowned. She crossed her arms. "Just because she's not wearing a huge gown and a overly decorated crown doesn't mean she isn't the Ruler of Twilight Kingdom!"

"Twilight Kingdom?" Sora asked, looking at Roxas.

"That's where we are," Roxas informed him.

Sora nodded and took another glance at Hitomi. "You don't like people calling you a princess?"

Hitomi nodded. "It just feels so strange to me."

Sora nodded once more. "It's a beautiful Kingdom."

Hitomi smiled and then turned to Roxas. "Is this the friend you were looking for?"

Roxas nodded. "He's also the keyblade master I was telling you about."

Sora smiled proudly as Hitomi examined him.

"Very nice," was her conclusion. "I bet you're really strong."

Sora scratched the back of his awkwardly and blushed.

"Too bad you can't show off any of that strength," Roxas muttered.

"What'd you mean?"

"Twilightians are against keyblades," Annabelle answered. "It' a long story but it came to the point where we all just went against them."

"But you guys are wielders and seem nice," Hitomi smiled. "That's why were going to protect you."

"What?" Sora asked. He was so confused and all the information they were laying on him just puzzled him more.

"You two are going to stay with me till we can get you out of here," Annabelle grinned. "We can't have you guys sleeping on the streets."

Quiet stirring played along with the voices of the four.

"It seems Silva is awakening," Annabelle confirmed.

"We have to get you two to Annabelle's house," Hitomi declared. "It's not safe if we finish our conversation here."

Roxas nodded but Sora stared in amazement and a bit of fear at the old woman on the ground. "What happened— Wait, you know what? Don't tell me."

Roxas rolled his yes while Hitomi laughed quietly.

"Come," Annabelle commanded as she turned around. "Silva will awaken soon. We must leave now."

The three teenagers nodded and followed Annabelle out of the Garden of Roses.


	4. Meanings

Chapter 4:

Meanings

"Roxas?"

"Hm?"

"Hitomi…" Sora mumbled quietly. "She's something."

He lay side by side with his nobody in a comfy bed concealed in sheets of ivory, cream, and white. They lay in the spare room of Annabelle's residence. The space was definitely well furnished. Apart from the bed, there were drawers, a wardrobe and a mirror, a desk with a computer, a couple chairs, a radio, a phone, a closet, and a door leading to the bathroom. Not to mention the door leading out of the room. They were lucky. They got to sleep in a good home where they were fed good food and cared for by people they barely knew.

"I guess," Roxas nodded.

"You guess?" Sora sniggered. "More like you know."

Roxas turned over from facing his side to the ceiling. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing," Sora muttered, also facing the ceiling. "She's a lot like Namine."

"I noticed," Roxas replied. "Is that who you thought she was earlier?"

Sora raised and eyebrow as he thought back. It came to him and he shook his head quickly. "No. Some other girl."

"Kairi?"

"No."

"You going to tell me who?"

"Nope."

Roxas turned to his side, his back facing Sora. "Whatever."

Sora grinned before turning his back on Roxas.

* * *

Roxas turned about where he lay. He pulled the sheets up but then felt air brush past his toes. He shoved the blankets back down and reached out for the pillow behind him. After throwing the pillow on top of his soft face.

"Hitomi…." Roxas grumbled. "Hitomi…"

"ROXAS! ROXAS!"

Roxas jumped at his name and whipped the pillow off his face. He sat up staring at what appeared to be Sora.

"…Sora…?"

Sora grinned and adjusted the thick and dark black framed glasses on his face. Instead of his normal blue, black, yellow, and red outfit he normally wore, he was dressed in a black and Cardinal red shirt, a burgundy tie, burgundy shorts and black tights under the shorts, and brown boots that had a slight resemblance to his old ones. The design of his shirt reminded Roxas a lot of the design of Annabelle's dress. On one half was black and Cardinal red stripes and the other black and Cardinal checkers. Also like Annabelle's dress, a small section of one of the sleeves had black and Cardinal red stripes and the other, Cardinal and black checkers. Like the collar of the long sleeved shirt, the background color of the sleeve was white.

Roxas looked closer to see that Sora's face had even changed a bit. His eyes were darker for an unfathomably reason and his cheeks had less shine. His spiky mane had even managed to appear calm.

"What happened to you!?" Roxas exclaimed. "You look… So… Different!"

"I can answer that," Annabelle grinned as she walked into the blond and brunette's new room. "I changed his appearance."

"Why!?" Roxas questioned. He was not only shocked but annoyed. What the hell did clothes have to do with getting him and Sora home?

"Because," Annabelle smirked. "Princess Hitomi demanded it."

"She said that it had spread around through out towns that we had been here," Sora added. "Apparently, we are wanted; dead or alive."

"Dead being the obvious hope," Annabelle put in. "But alive is good too."

"Damn it," Roxas muttered.

"Anyway," Sora continued. "Hitomi had this great idea for us to wear the uniforms of the castle servants and act as if we work here as Annabelle's nephews."

"Until we can get you out of here," Annabelle smiled.

Roxas sighed and rubbed his temples. This was _defiantly_ not what he wanted to hear in the morning. He was _hoping_ to be boarding a boat or train home by the end of the day. But he had a feeling he'd be here for a while.

"Do I have to seriously do this?" He glared at Annabelle.

"Yes, you seriously have to do this," she said with a more irritated glare.

Sighing once more, Roxas climbed out of the bed and rubbed his eyes. "So, where do I work?"

"Outside," Annabelle smiled. "With the others hoping to go into combat some day."

"What!?" Sora exclaimed. "_He_ gets to go outside and fight while I'm on kitchen duty! Oh you've gotta to be joking!"

Roxas tried to hide his smirk and mumbled to himself, "I'm going to like this plan…"

Annabelle turned to Sora, her hands on her hips. "I've got special orders to keep you close," she huffed.

"From who?" Sora asked still angry.

"Like I'm going to tell you," Annabelle concluded as she turned her back on Sora.

Suddenly, a loud, angered scream ran through the homes and streets of Twilight Kingdom.

"What the hell!?" Roxas shouted. He ran to the window, only to be followed by Annabelle and Sora. The three looked out the window at rapid speed.

"That wasn't one voice…" Annabelle muttered. "It was two."

The younger blond and brunette looked up at her.

"It sounded like it said… _'Breathe'_," Sora said.

"Who sa—"

**"You're suffocating!"** The voice yelled.

"Whoa," Sora jumped. "What the hell goes on in this Kingdom?"

"That's not normal," Annabelle muttered.

"Obviously," Sora rolled his eyes.

"No," Annabelle said as she turned to him. "Those voices never yell in unison. It'll be one voice. It's not that it happens often or anything though. It's just strange."

"Do you know who the voices come from?" Roxas asked.

"Nobody does," Annabelle replied. "There are rumors that it comes from Hitomi… But that's impossible figuring Hitomi never talks loud. At least, not often."

Roxas nodded, "Hitomi's too sweet to disturber the peace."

"Oh?" Sora smirked turning to his nobody. "It seems as if _somebody_ just gave out a compliment. Is that love I smell?"

"Shut up idiot," Roxas glared at the brunette. "Go clean a spoon or something."

"Shut up bastard!" Sora shouted. He reached his arms out to Roxas but was stopped by Annabelle.

"If you two are going to argue I'll shove you out on the streets where the world can see the two keyblade wielders they'd like to kill!" She threatened.

Quickly, the two males silenced.

"Good," Annabelle sneered. "Now," she turned to Roxas, "Your clothes are in the wardrobe. Call us when you're done." With that, she and Sora left the room, closing the door behind them.

First, Roxas locked the door they had left out of and went to the bathroom. Light shined in to the room from a small window at the other end of the space. Roxas yawned and dragged himself to the sink. He picked up one of the toothbrushes left for him and carefully placed toothpaste on it. He then stuck the brush into his mouth and began cleaning his teeth. He hummed an unfamiliar tune while he brushed. Getting to the end of his mouth cleaning, he realized it was the song he had heard Hitomi sing yesterday. He smiled to himself and cleaned the brush off.

When he was done, he striped down and stepped into the shower. It wasn't long till the ice cold water hit the top of his head and patted down on his chest. He gazed up slowly, taking a deep breath. The water had this innocent scent to it strangely. It was almost hypnotizing.

He exhaled and closed his eyes while his head remained facing the ceiling.

"Hitomi…" He muttered once more to himself. Her name was like poison. If he didn't say it, he felt as if he'd suffocate. He had to taste each letter of her name to be satisfied with himself. "Hitomi…"

* * *

"Roxas…" Hitomi smiled to herself as the icy water hit her lips. She stood naked in her shower, eyes closed, head up to the ceiling. "Roxas…" She licked her lips as if she could taste his name. "Yesterday, what—"

* * *

"—Did you mean?" Roxas asked himself, eyes still shut. He felt icy cold water fall onto his eyelids. "When you came and—"

* * *

"—Spoke to me?" Hitomi breathed. She opened her eyes slightly only to see the tiles of the ceiling. She shut her eyes again and returned back to her ecstasy; back to her memories of last night.

* * *

Flashback

Hitomi stood at the windowsill of Annabelle's house staring into a bright night's sky.

"Even your nights are beautiful," Roxas muttered.

The blue eyed princess turned to her side to see the blond boy leaning against the ledge also staring into the sky.

"Thank you," Hitomi smiled.

Roxas glanced at her from the corner of his eye to see she had fully turned to him with a calm almost seductive look on her face. Although her lips were in the form of a smile, her eyes were lowered, gazing at his soul. Roxas _hated_ this look and gazed back at the sky.

Hitomi turned back to the sky and reached one of her arms out, as if to be reaching for the stars.

"What are you doing?" Roxas asked.

"Gathering hope," she answered calmly.

"Why?"

"Because one day, I'll have enough hope and be able to reach for the stars and be safe."

One of Roxas' eyebrows rose. _"…Reach for the stars and be safe"_? How could something so small have so much value to her? Plus, wasn't it impossible to _"Gather"_ hope and _"Reach for the stars"_?

"What's home like?" Hitomi asked abruptly.

Roxas was caught off guard and stared at her in astonishment. He then shook his head as pondered the question. His expression darkened. "You tell me."

Hitomi stared at him at that point. What did he mean _"You tell me"_? His home was _his _home, not her's. So how was she supposed to explain his home if she had never even been there?

"I don't truly consider that place my home, just where I live," Roxas muttered. "No where is home. Not yet at least."

Hitomi still gazed at him, confused. She would have to think over this statement for many nights before she could ever comment on it.

"You are very confusing Roxas."

"As are you Hitomi."

The two smiled at one another, both obsessing over one another's smile. It was Hitomi who blushed first and moved her hand to her mouth in embarrassment. Roxas lifted an eyebrow perplexed once again and then realized Hitomi was embarrassed. That embarrassed him. The two now had faces of red while their eyes went in different directions.

"Princess," Annabelle's voice rung from inside. "It's getting late! Your father will be seeking you soon."

Hitomi sighed and glared at the ground. "She just had to use that title."

Roxas laughed quietly at Hitomi's dismay of the word when he realized she was looking at him grinning. "Oh, so it's funny?"

Roxas blushed and turned his head to the side. "A bit."

Hitomi leaned into him quickly and pressed her lips on his cheek, and then went back to where she stood before, a hand close to her mouth.

Roxas pressed his hand against his cheek and turned to stare at the girl flabbergasted.

It was now Hitomi who got to chuckle. "Good night…," she smiled when she had stopped laughing. "…Roxas." She then turned her back on him and left.

* * *

Roxas, eyes still closed, faced the drain and pressed his fingertips on his cheek. _"Not as similar to Namine as I thought."_

* * *

Hitomi glared at the drain and then shut her eyes once more. She touched her bottom lip with her index finger and smiled. _"Would his Namine have done the same?"_

* * *

Roxas stood in the full length mirror, adjusting his uniform. It was a lot like Sora's except for a couple minor changes. For instance, his collar was flipped upwards and was black. Also, his top was more of a long coat with a long zipper in the center of it. His sleeves were a lot longer too; they covered up to his fingers. Under his top he had been given a black sleeveless turtleneck shirt. As for bottoms, he had plaid Cardinal and black pants that only showed the tip of his Russet brown boots.

Sighing, Roxas called for Annabelle and Sora. He could hear their footsteps rush up the stairs and then bang in the hall. The door burst open to the view of a very shocked Sora and Annabelle.

Roxas tried not to laugh when he saw the looks of Annabelle and Sora. It was hard to tell if they were more surprised or scared.

"Whoa," Sora was the first to say. "You look so... Mean."

"Oh, thanks," Roxas rolled his eyes.

Annabelle smiled and pulled her hands from behind her back. She held a small box with a woman with Wisteria purple hair on the front.

Roxas took a step back. "Why are you holding that?"

"Because," Annabelle sniggered as she took steps closer to him. "I'm going to dye the top of your head. Then, I'm piercing your left ear."

Roxas' eyes grew large. In less then two seconds he dashed to the bathroom door but Sora had caught him just in time to wrestle him to the ground.

"No! No! I don't want it!" Roxas shouted. "No dye! No piercing!"

"_Piercings_," Annabelle corrected him while she pulled a chair away from the desk.

Roxas gasped and struggled out of Sora's grasp faster. "No! Not more then one! Not any! Namine! Namine! NAMINE!"

"She's not here Roxas," Sora managed to say as he kept tight grasp of his friend. "So stop saying her name!"

"… HITOMI!"

* * *

"Now was that so bad?" Annabelle smirked. She slapped Roxas' arm. "Don't touch them!"

Roxas glared at her with hatred and moved his arm away from his left ear. He now had two small silver hoops on the bone of his ear and a silver swirled earring on his earlobe.

"Good boy," Annabelle cheered.

Roxas muttered something rude under his breath which made Sora laugh.

"I take it back," The brunette continued to laugh at the pain of the blond and now Wisteria purple boy. "You look a lot meaner _now_."

"Believe me," Roxas glared. "I don't just look _mean_."

By the looks of his glare, it was obvious to Sora the blond was pissed. "Oh come on Roxas," he smiled. "You look good. Annabelle even managed to make your spikes look longer and more menacing."

"Whatever," Roxas growled. He clutched his fist and walked to the entrance door. When he reached for the door knob Annabelle asked "Where do you think your going?"

"No where that you would care about," Roxas lied.

"Going to see a certain blond?" Annabelle smirked.

"She's blond?" Sora asked.

"Naturally, we dyed it after a while," Annabelle mumbled, not taking her eyes off of Roxas.

"Oh," Sora muttered. He yawned. "Just go to her Roxas. We all know you want to."

"S-Shut up Sora!" Roxas exclaimed while his face turned red. He turned to the door, opened it, and slammed it behind him.

Annabelle and Sora waited for one more door to slam shut before they spoke again.

Annabelle sighed, "He's falling for her."

Sora stared at the blond woman like she had a hammerhead. He then laughed. "Roxas doesn't _fall_ for anyone. Well, anyone that isn't Namine."

"Let's hope not."

"Why?"

"Because," Annabelle muttered. She reached for the door handle. "Hitomi could never love him back."

"Why?" Sora asked once again. "You make her sound cold."

"It's not that," Annabelle said. "It's just, she's to be married in a few months." She then opened the door. "Coming Sora?" She turned to him to see the brunette's jaw dropped, eyebrows raised, and eyes larger then ever.

"Married? At fifteen!?" Sora exclaimed. "What the hell goes on in this place!?"

Annabelle smirked, "You don't understand."

"Then I guess you better explain."

Sighing, the blond explained, "We do things the old fashion way when it comes to the castle. Most children of Kings and Queens are found a spouse before they are born."

"Why?"

"Must you ask that question so many times!?"

"... Yes."

Annabelle sighed once more, "They just are. It's tradition. Anyway, Hitomi will be married at fifteen by the perfect man. She'll wait a while and then one day take over this place. And we'll all live happily ever after."

"You don't sound so happy."

"Of course not. It's not fair for my little Hitomi. To be married before she can even drink, it's ridiculous. But it's not for me to say, same with her. I know she hates the thought but she'd do anything for her father so I must respect her wishes."

Sora shook his head and walked to the entrance door. "Damn… Hope she doesn't fall for anybody while she waits for this guy to marry her."

"I do."

"But that'll just complicate things."

"Exactly."

* * *

"_I wanna be there for you_

_Someone you can run to_

_Runs deeper than my bones_

_I wanna be there for you_

_I wanna be—"_

"Hitomi!"

She startled at the call of her name. She turned around to see a male with blond hair and what looked like a bit of purple at the top of his head run to her. By the voice she would have thought it was her keyblade friend but she wasn't sure when she saw what appeared to be a protector in training run her way. As he came closer, the blond soon realized it was no other then her friend, Roxas.

"Roxas!" Hitomi smiled. She picked up her feet and ran his way, forgetting that she was in a lavender long sleeved dress and lilac sandals. Hitomi ran faster forgetting her surrounding and her condition in the uncomfortable shoes. She felt her foot hit something and faster then excepted she made her way to the ground.

Abruptly, she stopped. She tilted her head upwards to see that Roxas had her hand with concern in his face. "Are you all right?"

The blond girl nodded slowly gazing at the face of Roxas.

Roxas sighed with relief and let go of her hands, stabilizing her stance first. "Good," he grinned.

Hitomi nodded and pulled her hands to her heart. She leaned into Roxas slightly which caused the taller blond to take a step back.

"Annabelle did a very good job," Hitomi smiled after she scrutinized her mate. "I didn't even recognize you."

"Good thing," Roxas beamed. "Because I can't have anybody else recognizing me either."

Hitomi nodded.

"Have you seen how Sora looks yet?"

Hitomi nodded once more, "He woke up very early and he and Annabelle got to work. She then sent somebody to come and call me so I went on my own and saw him. He looked very good too."

Roxas nodded in agreement.

"You looked very good too."

Roxas blushed and shook his head. "I-I don't understand what you mean."

Hitomi chuckled, "I watched you sleep, Roxas."

Startled, Roxas gasped. "How!?"

"While Sora and Annabelle congratulated one another, I snuck upstairs and went into your room. Are you mad at me Roxas?"

"No," he smiled. "I can't be. But I may have to get back at you."

Hitomi grinned, "We'll see about that. Why did you keep saying 'Hitomi' and 'Namine' in your sleep?"

"I said those names?"

Hitomi nodded eagerly.

"Wow... Um… I don't know to be honest."

Hitomi chuckled, "Let me walk you to the practice grounds Roxas." Still puzzled, Roxas agreed and walked side by side with the chuckling girl.

* * *

"Defense men to the front, Offense men in the back!"

Men in the same uniform as Roxas moved to different areas of the larger stoned ground. They all went into different stances at the same time with emotionless expressions.

"Princess Hitomi!?"

All the men whirled around to the blond girl and blond male a bit taller then her standing close to one another. The princess gave them a calm smile while the male looked perplexed.

All the men bowed in an instance at their Princess as a sign of respect. The girl nodded and made her way to the front of the class, to a large, dark and bald man who led the class. The male followed her still unsure of his surroundings.

"Arcid, please raise your head," Hitomi breathed.

The dark man looked up at her, a grin spread on his lips. "Ah, why isn't it my little princess Hitomi."

Instead of telling the man to not use her title, she smiled at the sound of her title when it came from this man.

"What brings you here?"

"This is my friend, Roxas," The princess gestured towards Roxas. Roxas waved nervously. He was intimidated by the body builder man. He could crush Roxas right now if he really felt like it. It was obvious he was not to be messed with by the looks of the fabric stretching over his large chest.

The man smiled at Roxas, "Hey."

"He's a nephew of Annabelle," Hitomi continued. "I'd like you to help him become a top Protector."

"Now isn't that what I've been doing with these other guys?" Arcid grinned.

Hitomi chuckled, "Yes, and you've been doing an excellent job at it, but I _need_ Roxas to become a top Protector fast."

Arcid placed his hand on Hitomi's head and petted her. "I'm not even going to question you little Hitomi. I'll do what I can."

Hitomi grinned and clasped her hands together at her chest. "Good. Thank you Arcid." She looked at Roxas still smiling. "Roxas…?"

Roxas stared at her a stepped back. Hitomi was giving him her deadly smile. "Yes…?"

"Fight Arcid."

"What the hell!? No! NO!"

"Aww… Why not Roxas?" Hitomi pouted. She stuck her bottom lip out while her eyes watered. Her lip quivered as she sniffed. "Won't you fight for your Princess?"

"Uh, well, yes, but," Roxas looked around at all the anxious faces focused on him. He played around with his fingers nervously. "Arcid… He can kill me."

Arcid laughed, "I would never. It'll be a quick brawl Roxas. Just let me see what you've got."

The men cheered, agreeing with their captain. They also wanted to see a fight.

"Fine," Roxas sighed. "But only for Hitomi."

"Just the answer I wanted to hear," Arcid grinned.

* * *

**Author's Note: I forgot to put in where I got my songs from xD**

**Okay, The song in chapter 2 is from the song "Take 5" by Utada Hikaru. I may submit the translations later on.  
**

**The song that Hitomi sings that starts off with _"I wanna be there for you..."_ Is called "There for you" by Flyleaf. **

**Just thought I'd put that in so it doesn't come off as copy writing or something xD**


	5. Favor

Chapter 5:

Favor

The crowd of Protectors in training roared from the sidelines while Arcid and Roxas took their places on the precious stoned ground. Both had different expressions when protectors came and gave them their slate grey bats and explained the rules. While Roxas appeared to be overwhelmed, Arcid was annoyed. He had heard these rules many times before. He could careless about what the Protector was saying, he was focused on Hitomi. She had been acting very strange lately, but this, this was eccentric. It was very rare for people to fight Arcid; especially if said people were training to become fighters.

But that was only minor with what really baffled Arcid. Hitomi never _ever_ requested for _anybody_ to become a Protector. So what was so special about this guy? Why was Hitomi paying so much attention to him?

Arcid veered over to the crowd and grinned. These questions may have come to their minds, but not like Arcid, they chose not to ponder over them. They were obviously excited that they could see such a battle.

Roxas slashed the dull sword in the air, jaded. The weapon reminded him of those in the Struggle tournaments in Twilight Town. He sniggered at the resemblance of the two places.

"Ready to fight?" Asked the Protector who had explained the quarrel to him.

Roxas nodded and took a couple steps forward.

Arcid watched Roxas and then also walked forward. He pointed his sword at Roxas and tittered. "Ready?"

"I have to be," Roxas replied. He went into a battle stance and frowned.

"I would appreciate it if no blood is to be spilled during this fight," Hitomi declared. "Remember, this is _my_ battleground. Understand?"

Both males nodded and waited for the princess to step off the theatre of war.

Hitomi smiled shyly and made her way to the sidelines. As she did, she said over her shoulder, "Fight."

Roxas was the first to lung at Arcid with his weapon. Arcid jumped back swiftly. For a muscular man, he was defiantly graceful. He landed firmly on the ground and smirked. "Tell me you can do better then that!"

Roxas' frown deepened while he ran to Arcid. When he was close enough, he threw his sword at the graceful male, using it as a distraction while Roxas kicked at his legs.

Arcid grabbed the weapon quickly and jumped onto Roxas' leg just in time. He listened to Roxas yell out a cry before jumping off the teen's leg and using his own leg to kick at Roxas' face.

Roxas clutched on to Arcid's leg and used it to push him away. Quickly he stood up and ran to Arcid's flying body.

Arcid brought one of his arms to the ground remaining balanced in the one hand handstand. He held Roxas' bat in his mouth and his own in his free hand. He jumped to his feet and took the weapon out of his mouth. He ran to Roxas who was now breathing deeply. He knew Roxas was getting tired but he didn't care. Arcid played to win, and when he played, he always won.

Roxas raised his fist to Arcid's chin, punching him in the jaw and sending him back.

Arcid's combat boots screeched against the ground as he slide back. Once he was balanced he rushed into Roxas who was defenseless.

Roxas raised his arms over his face as Arcid slashed at him with the bats. Obviously, this wouldn't have hurt as bad if it were someone else hitting him, but Arcid hit with all his force so the pain struck Roxas harder then it should. He could only wonder what it would have been like if Arcid had a sword, or even a keyblade.

Suddenly, Arcid crashed into at Roxas' feet, tripping him with his leg. Roxas fell back taking deep breaths. Arcid only smirked and shook his head, "You aren't so great without Hitomi; are you Rucksack?"

Roxas glared up at the dark male. A sudden rage over came him. He let out a battle cry and pushed himself upwards and hooked his legs on to Arcid's shoulders. In less then a second, Roxas hauled himself up on to Arcid and punched his head sadistically.

Arcid let out muffled cries as the blond harassed him. Unfortunately for him, the only thing he could see if he tried was Roxas' stomach in his face. Not knowing where he was going or what he was doing, he waved his arms around hectically and for the first time in the battle, he fell on his behind.

Roxas pushed him to his back, jumped back a bit, leaned down and destructively punched his face. With each blow the blond gave to the man, the more raged he filled with.

Arcid clutched the males throat but not as tight as he could. He couldn't calm the boy down, he had officially lost it.

Hitomi ran from the feared crowd who stared at the scene and to the perplexed male and angered teen. She drew Arcid's hands from the keyblade's throat and then wrapped her arms around Roxas' waist and tried pulling him off.

Roxas continued waving his arms about still attempting to kill Arcid while he felt arms around him.

Hitomi was finally able to rise to her feet still holding onto Roxas' waist. But she hadn't silenced the angry male. She had to and fast.

Roxas still reached out for Arcid and yelled angry things at him.

"I swear Arcid! I swear to God I will kill you!" He shouted. "_Kill_ you! Infact, before I send you to hell, I'm going to do some many bad things to you and then stab you for—"

"Roxas?"

Roxas froze. He felt a warm, calm breath tickle his ear. The voice was tranquil and soothing. His eyes broadened when he felt the arms around him tighten. He caught a glimpse of Hitomi from the corner of his eye. Her eyes were lowered and a small smile had crept on to her lips. She was giving him the look-right-through-you look again. Roxas shivered and looked straight ahead. He saw Arcid stand and stare at him flabbergasted. He didn't blame him; Hitomi was not only puzzling Roxas but also scaring him.

Hitomi moved one of her arms from his waist and dragged it up to his chin. Her fingers guided themselves up to his Adam's apple and went up a bit farther. She traced his jaw line with her fingertips and smiled. She then brought her tips to the tip of his chin and lifted it upwards.

Roxas' heart raced while he watched Hitomi's lips pucker up a bit and come close to his jaw line. He could feel the stares of all the men around. He thought he could even hear their heartbeats. To his surprise he felt Hitomi rest her head on his shoulder. He looked at her and rolled his eyes humorously.

Hitomi smiled and moved her arms into a self hug; she kind of liked being playfully with Roxas. It was all in good fun; it wasn't like there was anything serious between the two.

Roxas smirked and turned to Hitomi. She had had her fun, so it was time for him to have his. He placed his hands on her back and brought her close. His eyelids lowered as he pressed her chest against his.

Hitomi stared at Roxas and blushed. This was extremely out of character for the young man. It was either Hitomi playing around, which was very rare, or neither of them. But the way Roxas looked at her, Hitomi wasn't so sure if this was all fun and games.

Roxas stroked her hair with hand and bent in close to her, pushing her back a bit so that he could see her face.

"You know," he mumbled. "I still never got you back for last time."

"And you never will," Hitomi sniggered.

"Is that so?" Roxas leaned in closer to her and compressed his forehead onto hers. He then brought her hands to his face and placed them there. After doing so, he also cupped her face.

Hitomi blinked a multiply of times before smiling. She then closed her eyes and mumbled to him, "Everybody's staring."

"Let them stare," Roxas replied in a whisper, eyes closed also.

"Rumors will spread."

"Let them spread."

"People will worry."

"Let them worry."

"Rumors can turn into truths."

"Let them become the truth."

"Are you vowing your love to me, sir?"

Roxas sneered but remained calm. "Is that what it seems like ma'am?"

Hitomi nodded, "Yes."

"Then I propose, you show me you love me back."

"How?"

Roxas' eyes flashed open. He had Hitomi where he wanted her. "With a kiss ma'am."

Raising an eyebrow, Hitomi blushed. "A kiss? This is unexpected."

"Always expect the unexpected Hitomi," Roxas smiled.

Hitomi looked at him once more before nodding. Kisses were harmless in her opinion. "All right then; one kiss. Only one."

Roxas' eyes broaden a bit. He had only been playing around, but Hitomi seemed serious. He hadn't planned his trick to the very end. Plus, wouldn't kissing Hitomi by unfair to Namine? But then, what if Hitomi got annoyed because he couldn't follow through? _"Each way, something bad happens…" _Roxas thought. He checked from the corner of his eyes to see his audience was frozen still, all eyes on the two. The blond sighed, _"Great… More pressure."_ He felt Hitomi's jaw lines with his fingertips. It was a strange feeling; a feeling of ecstasy yet a feeling of sorrow. He brushed his fingertips against her bittersweet face a proliferate amount of times before deciding he couldn't take it. He had to have her, and if he couldn't, he _at least _had to kiss her. He had to see if she tasted as good as she felt. He tightening his grip on her face and brought his lips a bit closer, licking his lips in the process.

Hitomi released her hands from him, wanting him to take the lead. The original blond was ready to put her whole being into the kiss, no matter how long it lasted.

Roxas tipped his head to the side a bit and took one final breath before he would get touch Hitomi's lips with his own.

"Grab her."

Hitomi's arm were suddenly pulled back and forced behind her. The grasps of her wrists tightened as Roxas went into a battle stance. Hitomi winced in pain.

"What in hell are you doing!?" He shouted at the two men in the Twilight castle uniforms. He jumped on one and tried pulling the arms off of Hitomi but he was only pushed away by a large redhead.

Hitomi struggled to break free from the grasps; she pulled her arms away more angered then ever. The more she thrashed about, the weaker she became. The men could keep hold of her forever with ease. Eventually, her struggling came to a halt. She threw her head down feeling guilty. Abruptly, cold fingers trodden her shoulders and Hitomi froze. The pain was unbearable but she couldn't scream. Not after what happened the last time she screamed at this pain.

Roxas shot cold glance at each of the men but shot his most deadly glare at the male with shoulder length black hair and ice cold blue eyes. The man appeared to be in his late twenties or so. There were no signs of age in his face but the signs of hate were visible. Dressed in a long onyx trench coat, the male bent down and whispered in Hitomi's ear. Roxas watched the girl nod slowly before throwing her head up and smiling at Roxas. Tears were formed in her eyes and slid down her face yet the smile remained.

"It was a nice thought," is what she mouthed to him. Roxas only tilted his head upwards to the man and demanded his name.

"You don't see a resemblance?" The male sniggered. "I am Hitomi's father, Aldercy."

It was then Roxas noticed all the males in the battleground apart from Aldercy and the men around him bowed. He stared at Aldercy in disbelief, he should have known. If he had he would have never went to see Hitomi after he was dressed.

"You're new here," Aldercy smiled. "It's all right, you didn't know. I won't kill you." He turned to Hitomi, "But you… This act is worse then the others. What will I do with you child?"

"I don't know…" Hitomi muttered under her breath. Immediately after her response, Aldercy grabbed the bottom of her face and turned it to his quickly.

"What was that child?" He demanded to know.

"N-Nothing Father," Hitomi muttered. Her eyebrows quivered inwards and she shook slightly. "Nothing at all."

"Right," he muttered. He threw her face to the other side and turned away from his daughter. Looking at the men who he had come with him, he said, "Take her to her room." With that, the men did as there were told and dragged the young girl around as they followed their King.

Roxas ran a few steps ahead and reached out for Hitomi, "I still don't understand…" He muttered.

Hitomi looked up from the ground and stared at Roxas. She loud enough for the whole area to hear, she said, "Roxas! We will meet again. And then we can talk about everything. I may not know it's you, and you may not know it's me; but we will meet again, someday soon. I promise!"

Roxas' eyes broadened. For that moment, he felt as if this was all déjà vu, as if this was a dream he'd soon wake up from. His eyelids heaved while he watched Hitomi disappear into a new area. Once he couldn't see her, he knew it was safe to completely close his eyes, and once he did, he fainted.

* * *

Hitomi landed on her bed, hard.

"You may go," her father excused the men. The bowed and then left the room. Only Hitomi, her father, and Annabelle stood in Hitomi's well supplied room. Light shown brightly through the transparent curtains and the wind rustled them gently. Hitomi sat up and stared out her window, her back to Aldercy and Annabelle.

A perplexed Annabelle stared at the angered princess. She wasn't sure what was going on. She had only come into the room because she had been walking around the halls of the castle when she saw the scene with Hitomi, the guards, and Aldercy. She ran to them and tried to pull the men off Hitomi but Aldercy commanded her to stop. Instead, she should come with him to Hitomi's room. And now that the men were gone and it was only the three, the conversation that should have been started never began.

Hitomi sighed and brought her hair over to her shoulder. While it hung there, she played with numerous strands. How? The question that rattled her brain. How would she get out of her room? How will she explain to her father what happened? How will she explain to Roxas the ways of her kingdom? And then there was the most important how: How would she ever see Roxas again? This question was the one she cared for the most but it was also the question she never wanted to answer. She knew as well as anyone that things can escalate, it just depends on when._ "If I ever see Roxas again," _Hitomi questioned herself. _"Will things escalate?"_ Once more she knew the answer but not wanting to believe it.

"Honestly, I don't know where to begin," Aldercy announced.

"_So don't,"_ Hitomi thought.

Aldercy sighed, and pulled a chair from Hitomi's oak desk. He sat down and rubbed his temples. All of a sudden, his fingers went warm. He tipped his head upwards at see Annabelle smiling down at him. Her blond locks brushed against his forehead while she removed his hands from his head. Annabelle then used her own fingers to rub his temples. Aldercy blinked a dozen times before looking back at Hitomi.

"Why Hitomi?" He asked.

"It wasn't anything serious," Hitomi replied. "We were just playing around."

"Well that's not a good game to play."

"I'm sorry I took part in that competition."

"You should be."

Hitomi rolled her eyes and pulled her feet up to her chest. She hugged her knees as a slight gust of wind blew past her. She could have sworn she heard the air talk at that moment.

"You can never see him again."

Hitomi whirled in the direction of Aldercy, "What!?"

Aldercy rose from his seat and blinked, "He's too much of a distraction, plus I don't trust him."

Hitomi jumped off from her bed and ran to her father, "Well maybe if you just took the time to kno—"

"I thought this was just a game Hitomi?"

The young woman silenced. It _was_ just a game; a game she couldn't play anymore. She nodded, "Yes, it was."

"So why do you care?"

"_Because it was a fun game,"_ Hitomi thought of saying. Instead she replied, "I don't."

"Is that the truth?"

The girl shook her head.

"Can you make up your mind with an answer?"

She shook her head once more.

"Then until you can, and come up with the _right_ answer, you don't leave this room and if you do leave it you must think of it as a _necessity_. And this _necessity_ must be accompanied by anyone other than that male, someone I trust."

"Like Annabelle?" Hitomi asked hopefully. She knew Annabelle wouldn't be so harsh on the rules. Annabelle knew her situation.

Sensing the hopefulness in her voice, Aldercy shook his head, "Not Annabelle. I'm thinking… Silva?"

Hitomi clutched her fists but nodded. She'd find a way to solve her Hows, even if she had to lie to do it.

Aldercy smirked and turned to the door. "Come Annabelle, we must alert Silva of the news." He saw the blond nodded and step in front of the door. She turned the doorknob, opening the door for her King and allowed him to step out first.

Aldercy walked out and was followed by Annabelle who shut the door behind them.

* * *

"Whoa, night already?" Haruhi stretched and stood from her desk. She placed her book in a corner of her table and yawned. "Hitomi better be there tonight," she muttered under her breath. She opened one of the drawers of her desk and pulled out a long black cloth. After taking a couple looks at the cloth, she closed the drawer and walked to her door. Strange noises came from her window, noises of rain. Haruhi clutched on to her cloth, "I swear if she makes me go out in the rain…" Sighing, Haruhi opened the door and stepped out of the room. She reached for her pocket at her breast of her onyx coat and pulled out a gold key. She locked her door and then ran out of the hall.

* * *

The rain had no scent, no taste. Nothing had a good enough scent to please Roxas. Every aroma was awful compared to the whiff of Hitomi. Her scent was magical. It was a drug, the most addicting drug. One whiff and you were hooked. But you could only become truly addicted if you were close to her, close enough to touch her. Roxas took a deep breath, remembering the scent. Sometimes, if he breathed in hard enough, he could almost taste her scent.

Taste. Taste her. Taste Hitomi. There was no meaning to the word "Taste". Everything he put in his mouth was wrong. He could only pray food was to be too cold, or too dry, or too bitter for him. But no, food was nothing. Everything that was told to be delectable was empty. As if it was missing something. Some exotic flavor, some striking essence, some Hitomi.

Roxas groaned and tapped the ledge of the balcony noisily with his fingers. Why was he feeling this way? He had Namine but never had he craved her the way he craved Hitomi? And he couldn't even feel. So thinking anything of Hitomi was useless, he was just wasting his time and probably hurting her. But, things felt so real in this world. He felt real. He felt. All though we would never tell anyone, he felt.

* * *

Haruhi tapped her foot in the rain to a never ending beat. Annoyed and wet, she stood in a lake, the water a bit below her knees. The cloth covered her eyes as a blindfold and she crossed her arms.

Hitomi was late. And as much of a surprise it seemed, it really wasn't. Normally, the quiet blond was always on time but the past couple days had been different. If she wasn't late to her secret meetings with Haruhi, she wouldn't show up at all. This annoyed Haruhi. At these moments, she needed someone to talk too. And if not Hitomi, then who?

She moaned and picked up the long skirt of her dress and began to make her way out of the rising water.

"Leaving?"

Haruhi dropped her skirt and smiled, "You're here Hitomi. Late, but here." She thought Hitomi was probably nodding but she wasn't so sure. The presence was odd. She knew it was Hitomi for sure but the princess seemed a bit darker then her usually calm, quiet, and happy self. "Something wrong Hitomi?"

"I need a favor."

* * *

**Authors note: Thanks for reading the chapter, hoped you enjoyed it. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Hurt

Chapter 6:

Hurt

Haruhi strolled outside to be blinding by a shining light. She shielded her eyes away from the beam with her arms and continued walking. She pulled the thin straps of her pink and onyx sheath dress and frowned. The outfit was too tight for her lithe body but it did show her figure; and Hitomi had said to look as good as she could. To Haruhi, this dress was looking good. With all its crazy designs and different shades of pink, it had to be good enough to please anybody.

She bent down a bit to adjust her black buckled stilettos. She glared at the thin black heel. She didn't see the point of it. She was already tall enough, why become any taller? She took hold of the heel and wrenched it off of the actually shoe. After doing the same with the other shoe, she threw the heels aside and continued her walk to the battlegrounds.

* * *

"_I you and I, there's a new land..."_

Sora sang quietly to himself while he carried a woven basket of fruits to the battlegrounds. He was supposed to be heading to the other side of the large slate gray castle but decided he would pass by the battlegrounds just to see if Roxas would really be there.

_"Roxas,"_ Sora thought. He smirked and rolled his eyes. He thought about yesterday when his nobody had crashed into Annabelle's house.

* * *

Flashback: Sora's POV (Point Of View)

Roxas stormed into Annabelle's house and slammed the door behind him. I leaned back a bit from the three seated burgundy sofa I sat on to see my nobody clutch his fist and yell out random swear words. I turned off the television in front of the couch and set it on the coffee table. Then I stood up and fixed my huge Payne's gray shorts Annabelle had given me and brushed off some dirt from the matching and equally large shirt.

"What's up Roxas?" I asked him as I strolled towards him in the narrow corridor. Aligned on Annabelle beige walls were different pictures of people and art. Annabelle had obviously spent plenty of time decorating her home.

Roxas glared at me and shook his head slowly. He muttered another curse word and stomped right past me still muttering swear words. I stared at him as he threw himself on to the couch I had been on not so long ago and grab the remote.

I knew I had to figure this out on my own since Annabelle wasn't home yet and I couldn't have Roxas pissed off when she was home or all hell would rain in this house. So I paced myself to the living room, walked past Roxas and sat myself down in an armchair. I glanced at Roxas but he only stared at the blank screen of the television. Sighing, I fumbled around with a loose string of the couch. I didn't want to make Roxas talk; I wanted him to open up to me. Plus, I was scared of what he might have said if I asked about anything. Only God could know what was wrong with the manic.

The television flashed on to a news reporter talking about a stolen car. I faced the television, acting as if I was interested in the red headed woman in the bistre suit talk about the car. But every thirty seconds or so I'd look at Roxas only to see him glaring at the T.V.

Roxas made me shiver. I'd never seen him so mad; something _huge_ had to be bothering him for him to glare at everything so coldly.

I lifted one of my legs on to the seat of the chair and hugged it close while laying my head on my knee. I had to figure out what was wrong with Roxas. I thought about asking Hitomi. They _had_ spent a lot of time together so maybe she would have known.

Suddenly, Roxas' eyes went wide and his eyebrows quivered inwards. His once frosty glare was now a stare of fear, or maybe, sadness? He stood up and walked right past me, to the front of the T.V. I watched him closely as he touched the frame of a picture. He wiped it gently while staring at the actually picture behind the glass. It was one of Hitomi blushing slightly with a smile on her face and Annabelle resting her arm around Hitomi and grinning wildly; typical Annabelle. Surprisingly, Roxas pulled the picture down so that the image was facing the ground, not to be seen. Once again, he walked right past me, I watched him, and he went back to his seat. As soon as he sat, the wintry glare came to his face.

I blinked at him, puzzled. _"Did something happen with Hitomi?" _I thought. _"What did she do? What did __**he**__ do?"_ I turned back to the television screen thinking about a conversation starter. That's when I saw King Aldercy appear on the T.V. I had remembered what he looked like from when Annabelle showed me a picture of him. I had actually been surprised when I first saw him. I thought the King would be really old man with a gray beard and funny wrinkles or maybe another mouse but King Aldercy was young and attractive; according to Annabelle.

"Bastard," Roxas muttered, his coldest glare at the King.

I stared at him and shook my head sadly, "That's Hitomi's father Roxas."

Roxas whirled his head at me and shot me a chilly, fierce look so fast I jumped in my seat. "I don't give a fuck."

I winced at the swear word, "What did he do to you?"

What he did next scared me. The crazed nobody stood on the couch and laughed. He laughed loud and arrogantly. I actually pushed myself closer to the back of the armchair.

"You wanna know what he did to me?" Roxas asked a fanatical look on his face. "You wanna know?"

Scared, I nodded.

Roxas laughed once more before filling me in, "That freaking prick took his daughter away from me! He came out of nowhere at the worst time! Do you wanna know what we were doing Sora? Do ya?"

I nodded, still freaked out.

"We were playing a stupid game and the rotten bastard takes it seriously and takes Hitomi away! Now I haven't seen her since then!" Roxas collapsed onto the couch and crossed his arms. "He says 'You didn't know, I won't kill you.' Doesn't the idiot know there is no point of living if I can't have her?"

I sat up and stared at him, "Are you…?"

He glanced at me and then turned to the television screen, "No."

I settled back down and nodded. Maybe Roxas just wanted to keep his friends close? I know I would have been mad if somebody had taken Kairi or even Riku away from me. But, the way Roxas' cheeks turned a shade of red every time Hitomi was brought up, it made me wonder; Was Annabelle right along?

* * *

Sora shrugged to himself and continued walking down the pathway that led to the battlegrounds. Whatever was going on with Roxas was Roxas' problem, not his. If Roxas wanted to talk about it, he'd say something.

* * *

The men slashed at one another and blocked. Their fighting skills were improving, probably because they were still pumped by yesterday's battle.

Haruhi strode past them smiling and nodding at their work. _"They're getting good,"_ she thought. _"But not as good as me."_ She tried to not laugh out loud while she searched.

"It's done, Roxas!"

Haruhi whirled her head around to the direction on a spiky haired blond pointing a sword down at a man dressed like him. Haruhi blinked once she caught sight of Roxas' face. She looked familiar to someone she had seen not so long ago. She shook her head and took a deep breath. She straightened her outfit and waltzed over to the blue eyed beauty.

* * *

"Roxas!"

The blond keyblade wielder turned over to see his somebody rushing towards him with a basket.

"Roxas!" Sora called again. He smiled when his nobody ran towards him. He studied the face of the blond. Roxas smiled, but his eyes were somewhere else, miserable looking. The bags under his eyes indicated he hadn't slept all night.

"Hi," Roxas said. "What's with the basket?"

"Just taking it over to the other end of the castle," Sora grinned. "You hungry?"

Roxas shook his head, "No."

"Aw Roxas," Sora sighed. "I know you didn't eat this morning or yesterday night."

Roxas frowned, "Yeah, so?"

"At least have an apple," Sora mumbled, picking up a red fruit.

"Sora I'm not—"

"You haven't eaten Roxas?"

Quickly, Roxas turned over to see the blond and auburn princess hold a hands to her chin, worried. Both his and Sora's eyes widened and breaths shortened. They stared at the girl in disbelief.

"H-Hitomi?" Roxas spoke first.

Haruhi smiled, "Yes Roxas?"

"I thought you couldn't see me anymore?"

"I snuck away," Haruhi announced proudly. She turned to Sora, "Can I have that apple please, Sora?"

Slowly, Sora nodded and handed her the fruit. He tried to have it so the tip of their fingers would touch but _Hitomi_ was too cunning and took the apple quickly.

Shoving the apple in front of Roxas Haruhi pouted, "Just a small bite, for me Roxas?"

Roxas nodded and took the apple, "But I'm not eating it 'cause you told me to; I'm eating it because I feel like it."

"Hey, whatever makes you happy," Haruhi grinned. She turned her back on Sora and Roxas and slowly strolled away.

Sora turned to Roxas with a perplexed expression, "Hitomi… She changed."

Roxas took a bite out of the apple and rolled his eyes, "No she didn't. She's just… Well I don't know what it is but it probably has to do with her father."

Sora shrugged, "Believe whatever you want; she's your girl after all."

Roxas stopped mid way of his second bite of the apple and stared at the brunette. _"His girl?" _ Was Sora out of his mind? Hitomi belonged to no one, exceptionally not him. Hitomi was just a friend who was helping him out. When he really thought about it, there was no way to pay Hitomi back for what she was doing for him; some friend he was to her.

"She's not my girl," The blond finally declared. "She's my friend."

"Right," Sora chuckled. He held the basket closer to his chest and took a glance around the area. "Not much competition here?"

"No way," Roxas exclaimed. "There's _plenty_, trust me. Arcid's got these guys trained."

"Arcid?"

Roxas pointed to the large built man at an end of the battlegrounds talking to a small brunette boy. "He's a really good fighter."

Sora nodded, "Looks like it." He scanned the area while placing the basket on the ground. He gazed at all the men fighting with different weapons working on different skills. He watched one man launch an arrow from a bow to another man on the other side of the battlefields. He observed the arrow, like a rocket; soar straight to the other side of the theatre of war. It dashed quickly to the other side, unaware of what may be in its path. That's when Sora noticed _Hitomi_ standing in its route.

"Hitomi!" He shouted.

Haruhi turned to see Sora smash right in to her, knocking her on the ground. She shut her eyes as the cement hit her corpse.

Sora lay on top of _Hitomi_, eyes shut in pain. He struggled to open his eyes only to see he held one of _Hitomi's_ wrists. He looked over his shoulder only to find the princess' other hand was held out high keeping a shaking grip of the now bloody arrow. Her fingers trembled once more before dropping the weapon.

Sora a felt a sharp pain strike him. He wheezed when he felt something being yanked out of his shoulder and his name being called by Roxas. Taking one glance at _Hitomi_, he blanked out.

* * *

**Author's Note: So it seems that my story's become some what Romeo and Juliet -ish.. Sorry about that xD**

**Please review!**


	7. Mindless

Chapter 7:

Mindless

"Sora?"

Sora stirred at the sound of his name.

"Sora."

Gradually, the brunette opened his eyes to an annoyed Roxas.

"Roxas," Sora muttered. A faint smile came to his lips which made Roxas smile too. Sora looked around merely to discover he was in a white room filled with cabinets, two chairs, and a television high above the cabinets, a large window, and medical supplies. He noticed the hospital bed he was in and the IV attached to his arm.  
He shot a gawk at Roxas and asked, "What happened?"

"You got shot in the shoulder with an arrow," Roxas answered. "Hitomi couldn't stop the it from dropping, she said she was sorry."

"_Oh yeah,"_ Sora thought. _"Hitomi came back."  
_He shook his head, he still couldn't believe that girl was Hitomi; she made him think about another girl he had met here. It was her aura, her presence; it just wasn't anything like Hitomi's. "Is she all right?"

"She says she is. I don't believe it though, there's a huge scar on her hand but the doctors say it will heal."

Sora nodded, "And my shoulder…?"

"It'll heal too," Roxas smiled. "You got a couple stitches though."

"So where is my saviour?" Sora asked, sitting up.

Roxas frowned, "She had to go back to her room so her father wouldn't catch her."

"Oh," Sora muttered. He looked around the room while Roxas stared at the ground. The brunette knew that there was no point of filling in the silence. Roxas had some things to figure out and for once, it didn't involve Sora.

"_How could you Aldercy!? I thought that—"_

"_Well I didn't! Just… Be happy that you can go. I can't; I have to stay here, with the guilt of it all in my head forever."_

"_No, Aldercy… We can fix that. Remember? What's yours is mine and what's mine is yours…"_

"_No… Not this time!"_

Aldercy hastily sat up from his bed. Sweat dripped from his head, down his neck, and on to his bare chest. He took short, fast breaths while he searched his dark room with his eyes. He turned to his balcony to see the doors were open quite a bit. The thin curtains blew as night's air brushed against them. The king's eyes wandered to the fading sun while he took a deep breath.

"_Daddy?"_

Aldercy twirled his head in the direction of the large door. Much to his surprise, there was nobody there. It was just his mind playing tricks on him. He took more breaths and dropped his hand in to his hands.

"Aldercy?"

He turned slightly to see a curious Annabelle smiling shyly at him. She held the Persian red and gold comforter and white sheets up to her chest. He lifted his head and smiled slyly. "Yes?"

"Are you all right Aldercy?" Annabelle questioned concerned.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well I could feel you moving," Annabelle informed. "And breathing."

"I'm supposed to breathe when I sleep," Aldercy chuckled. "And you should know by now that I'm not much of a soundless sleeper, love."

"I know," Annabelle blushed. "But this time it was different."

"Well I'm all right."

"Sure?"

The king leaned in close to the woman and kissed her lips lightly, "Yes, I'm sure."

Annabelle smiled and looked over at the moon. "Will Haruhi be all right?"

"Yeah. I'm just curious why that spiky blond with purple on the top of his head was at the medical area."

"You mean Roxas?" Annabelle asked.

"If that's his name, then yes."

"Probably waiting for Sora," Annabelle answered.

"Sora?"

"His friend."

"Oh, the brunette with glasses?"

Annabelle nodded, "They're with me."

Aldercy raised an eyebrow, "You never told me you had children."

"No," Annabelle chuckled. "Roxas is the son of my sister."

"You never told me you had a sister."

"I never thought I had to," Annabelle replied. "She passed away. So now I'm looking after Roxas and since he and Sora were close, I thought I should take care of him too."

"Have you made them citizens?"

"I'm almost done their paper work."

"Good," Aldercy said, settling back into his bed. He turned over to the sky. The clouds flowed in the blue like the ripples of the ocean on a slightly windy day. He sighed as the wind blew across his cold face. His cheeks darkened a bit but soon returned to their natural color.

"Do you think...?" He muttered quietly so that he was sure only Annabelle would be able to hear. "Do you think…? That maybe... If I had just been a better king… Maybe…" Suddenly, he felt something warm slip into his hand. He looked down to see Annabelle had laced her petite fingers with his great fingers.

"You do your best Aldercy," Annabelle said quietly, a faint smile on her lips. "You do your best and even though you don't believe it, your kingdom does, as do your daughters."

"You're only saying that because I pay you," The king insisted darkly.

Annabelle sighed and shook her head, "You just don't get it, do you? We love you Aldercy," she blushed, "Some more than others."

**It's been a while but I finally added another chapter... It's short though.**


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